Happy Halloween!

I had high hopes today. This is the best time of year to be a kid. Free candy at Halloween, family get-togethers at Thanksgiving time and Jesus and Santa at Christmas. That little kid inside of me is just bursting to get out.I was really excited about decorating the house until I went to Wally World this morning and discovered that all their Halloween decorations were gone. Oh, you could still get costumes and the like, but fake tombstones, etc. were gone. Hello - it's still Halloween and they were already putting out their Christmas stuff. That will learn me next year. I'm always waiting for the day after Halloween sale. Well, apparently, you gotta go the day before.Anyway, I did find a cobweb and had already bought a ghost and cat sign years before so I made the house as mildly scary as possible.Jack's first trick-or-treat tonight!I had a lot of fun walking with our neighbors. They grilled hot dogs and their parents were there. One of their moms kept asking silly Halloween riddles. I'm horrible with riddles but it was so much fun. I would have loved to hang out with them more."Silly momma."(Trying to scarf down the last hot dog Jack and I shared so we could get down to serious Trick or Treating business.) Mike stayed behind and handed out candy.Some fun decorations from around the neighborhood.We did a pretty good job covering the subdivision. I grew up in a small town so you had to drive a few miles to gather a good booty. I think subdivisions were created for Halloween.

The cutest bumble bee ever!For the record, I've only stolen two pieces of candy from Jack's bucket, actually gum. And he just swallows gum so it's a good thing mom is intervening. Mike scolded me, but really, I put a lot of hard work into tonight. During the second half of our outing, I became Jack's personal assistant, so don't I deserve my share? 10%?I hope you had a fun Halloween!

Missing My Boy

Jack had a fever yesterday so I stayed home with him and we had a great time although I was also feeling a little under the weather. We spent a lot of time snuggling and playing. Even when he's sick, you can't keep Jack down.

Grandma came up this morning to watch Jack, then decided to take him home. Mean ol' Grandma. That means I'm missing my little man tonight. He's staying the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I know they're spoiling him rotten. And I've tried to convince myself that this is a good thing. Mike and I can have a romantic evening, meaning he'll bring take-out and a movie home. But I'm fighting the urge to go get my boy.1,000,001 cute Jack moment (because there are so many): While getting Jack dressed this morning, he was looking at an alphabet book so I started singing the alphabet song. Then I said, "Can you try, Jack?" And he said, "I can," then tried to sing along with me.

It's these little moments that all add up and make me miss him so much!

My Generous Boy

A child is a wonderful blend of nature and nurture. With Jack, I often wonder, did he get that from his birth mom, his birth father? I generally don't take credit for his behavior except when he's acting goofy and then I think, that's my boy.

Jack has a tender heart. And he's often very generous, often looking out for me. (What a lucky momma!) When he does this, I credit his birth mom because I've seen the loving way she looks after her family and their needs. I have two examples of Jack's generosity today.

First, when Mike kissed Jack goodbye this morning, he turned my face towards Mike and said, "Momma's turn."

Second...Mike bought Dippin' Dots ice cream at the university volleyball game tonight. Although Mike always shares with me, I often don't take as much as the boys because I want Jack to enjoy it. Well, when Mike offered Jack ice cream, my little man said, "Momma's turn."

My heart sighed in happiness. I love that little munchkin!

Trick or Treat!

I took Jack to a Costume Party this morning. It was a great way to get him used to his costume for a short period of time. He was buzzing with excitement as a bumble bee.Look at that little stinger!We had fun as we colored,decorated our Trick or Treat bag, Trick or Treated in the Parks and Recreation building,played Ghost BINGO and enjoyed cookies and punch.I wonder who had more fun: Jack or mommy?

Pumpkin Carving

Less than a week before Halloween. What's a girl to do? Well, if she has a two-year-old monkey, she decides to carve a pumpkin to start creating those childhood memories. Awe....Let me start by saying that I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was in grade school or high school. My mom didn't mess with it. I recall carving a pumpkin once, probably because we bugged mom enough to buy one.I forgot how much work it takes to carve a pumpkin. I asked Jack what design he wanted. First, he said a cat, then he said a monster. The monster looked way too difficult for my amateur skills.So, after 1.5 hours, here goes!Not too bad, eh?

Weekend in Review

We had an interesting weekend. We saw my parents on Saturday and Sunday. My father had a run-in with a bull on Saturday. My father suffers from some bruises and a torn foot with lots of stitches. We are blessed that he was not killed. The bull? He's in cow heaven.

Garrett came home Saturday. He's doing pretty well for a little guy who had brain surgery. I was surprised at the length of his scar.We attended my home town's fall festival today. Ate lots of great food, played some games with Jack and Meaghan, played a little BINGO and then went home to see pop who has been getting lots of rest and is supposed to stay off his foot. Word spreads quickly in small towns so he's had a couple of visitors already and the towns folk are praying that he feels better soon. Again, we are lucky that he is alive.

The following pictures are those that mom took at Jack's birthday party last week. Mom has an awesome camera and my camera batteries died that day, so I knew I could count on her for some great pictures.I bought several Thomas the Train conductor hats. How come I was the only one who wore it? Party poopers!Thomas the Train toy!Garrett, pre-surgery.

Coming Home

They're coming home tomorrow. The IV's are out and Garrett is doing great. What a miracle life is. Thank God for advanced medicine. I'm sure they will all be happy to sleep in their own beds tomorrow night.

Thanks for all your prayers. It's nice to know that Garrett had so many angels on his side.

Garrett Update

My nephew is doing really well. According to my sister-in-law, he's off morphine, ate with a good appetite and walked around the floor today. He was a little shaky on his feet, but after brain surgery, I'd say that's pretty good. He even had one of his IV lines removed. I've heard they may be headed home on Saturday. My fingers are crossed.

Mike worked in St. Louis today so he was able to see Garrett, but the little guy was sleeping when he arrived. I sure hope everyone gets some good sleep tonight!

You Little Chicken!

First, there is an update on Garrett below this entry. Praise God. My nephew is doing well.

Although it wasn't sunny here today, the temp was decent, so we headed to Family Fun Fest tonight.Jack painted a pumpkin with a little pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month. He was very studious about it.One of the things Mike and I are realizing as parents is that there is a lot of standing in lines at these events. First, we stood in line for the face painting until we realized that Jack would probably scream if someone put paint on his face. Tonight's theme was Percussion Phun so we listened to a local elementary group bang on their drums.Jack really liked them.Then we stood in line for the Balloon Guy who was awesome. So what if it was a 30 minute plus wait?!Jack kept us entertained by dancing and running around in circles.What's that little stinker thinking? Up to no good.I told the guy that Jack likes dinosaurs but we were open to just about anything, so Balloon Guy said he was going to do something crazy.Either Jack is in suspense, has to go potty or momma just took a random picture with way too much headroom. So, if you had to "wing" a guess on what Balloon Guy made for Jack, would you wish on a "wish bone" for the right answer?

Okay, enough clues already.Bak. Bak. Jack turned into a little chicken. Our last highlight was sitting in the fire truck, although, as soon as I placed Jack on the seat, he was ready to go.He is now an official Junior Fire Marshall though so we're going to start charging him room and board!! :)

Garrett Update

Thank you for your prayers!

Garrett did very well today. He came through surgery fine and is in the PICU at Children's Hospital. He is not a happy camper right now because they have his arms restrained. Otherwise, he'd rip out the IVs.

Garrett's doctor took almost all of the tumor out. He didn't want to go deeper. The scanner showed a shadow after surgery. The doctors are not not sure if that is residual tumor. They will do an MRI tomorrow to find out. They also will perform a biopsy on what was removed from Garrett. We should know the results in several days.

Surgery Day

My nephew is finally headed to surgery this morning where the doctors will remove a lesion on his brain. I'm thinking positive thoughts and praying that the doctors are able to remove all of it, so that Garrett doesn't need chemo or future surgeries.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers! This surgery was supposed to take place a few weeks ago. We're so happy that it's finally going to happen and that Garrett can start healing after today.

Birthday Fun!

We had a wonderful time at the get-together hosted by Jack's birth mother and her family yesterday. Jack was pretty spoiled with lots of loving. And he found a couple of good ball players who loved socking the ball back to him.He loved the puppy which his Uncle D finally held so I could get a decent picture of it. The puppy wanted to play with tennis balls as much as Jack did. The puppy looks tortured but he was fine, full of energy and bounce.I also took a great shot of Uncle P, a sad victim from a ball attack. Uncle P will love me for posting this picture. :)I have a cute picture of Jack's birthmom and me with Jack but told her I would not post it because she was recently in a four wheeler accident and got a little banged up from that. Here'a darker picture of Jack and his birthmom where you can't see her boo boos. I don't think she'd mind me posting this. They shared a special moment as Jack blew out his candles.Jack's great-grandma made lots of yummy food including chicken, potatoes, homeade applesauce, chili, pumpkin pie and a birthday cake for Jack. Yum, but I think I need to add some spandex to my pants.Aunt J was a lot of fun!Did anyone say football?My first trampoline experience! I only lasted a few seconds but who's counting!?We hope to attend their parish's St. Nick festival next month. Carriage rides, crafts and...rumor has it that the jolly old elf will show up himself. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Jack is napping now. I told him to take a good nap so he can see cousin Meaghan later. He doesn't know the presents and sugar fest that await him!